Tongs



NITE STATES ALBERT BIBER, OF DES MOINES, IOWVA.

TONGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 383,855, dated June 5,1888.

Application filed September l3, 1887. Serial No. 249.592. (Nomodel) ToctZZ whom it may cmwern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT BIBER, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of Des Moines, in the county of Polk and Stateof Iowa, have invented a Combination Tool of the Tongs Order, of whichthe following is a specification.

My object is to provide tongs that are specially adapted for liftingpans and handling live coals, and also adapted to be used as astove-cover lifter and can-opener when locked.

My invention consists in the construction and combination of anoval-shapedjaw and a straight jaw, a triangularshaped jaw and a curvedjaw and can-opener, a handle formed in two parts, and a device forlocking the twopart handle together, as hereinafter set forth, pointedout in my claim, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings is a side view of the completetool, showing the handles unlatched and thejaws open. Fig. 2 is a topview of the complete tool. Fig. 3 is an enlarged view showing the underside of' the circular jaw and the handle of the straight jaw cut off todisclose the locking device. Fig. 4 is a sectional View through the line00 x of Fig. 3, looking toward thejaws.

A is the under and preferably oval-shaped jaw, formed integral with astraight handle or lever, A". It projects downward from the end of saidlever at an angle of about fortyfive degrees and terminates with aprojection, b, at its center, that is adapted in shape to engage a notchor catch in a stove-lid. The other end of the same half of the completetool terminates in a curved jaw and canopener, I).

G is a straightjaw that extends from the curved end of a handle orlever, 0 pivoted to the base of thejaw A and lever A in such a mannerthat it can be closed over thejaw A to clamp the curved rim of a pan orother vessel that'is to be handled therewith.

d is a triangularshaped jaw on the opposite end of the lever 0 providedwith teeth d at its corners, and adapted to allow the curved .jaw 12 tooverlap its center. The jaws thus formed at the opposite ends of thetool are adapted to engage objects to be seized and handled at threedistinct and separate points. The jaw A has a serrated or toothed edgethat will aid in grasping and holding articles firmly.

fis a spring formed by bending a springwire double at its center, andthen coiling each end around the fulcrum or pivot that connects the twolevers, and thenprojecting the two' ends parallel within the concavelever A to engage a pivoted latch. Inits normal condition the springthus formed will hold the jaws and levers apart.

g is an elbow-shaped latch pivoted in a,

slot in the lever A It is provided with lateral projections 9, uponwhich the parallel ends of the spring f rest. It also has a hook, g, atits lower end, adapted to engage a cross-bar, h, fixed in the concave ofthe lever 0 By simply pressing the levers together the latch g isfastened to the crossbar h or other suitable catch device, and the jawsand levers are thereby locked and retained closed. By simply pressingupon the projecting head of the latch while the tool is held in the handit will be unlocked, so that the power stored in the spring by closingthe jaws will be liberated and applied to opening and retaining the jawsopen and in readiness to grasp any object that is admitted between them.

I claim as my invention- As an improved article of manufacture, the toolcomprising the jaws A, O, b, and d, the levers A and C the springf, andthe locking device 9 h, substantially as shown and de scribed, for thepurposes stated.

ALBERT BIBER.

\Vitnesses:

G. W. SrILEs, THOMAS G. ORWIG.

